Imation Ships M-Class and S-Class SSD Drives

Another week, another news clipping involving SSD shipments. As the demand for solid state drives creeps up, more and more companies are joining in to snag a piece of the increasingly lucrative pie. This go around, we're seeing Imation -- you know, that company that makes all those CD-Rs you never got around to using -- ship its M-Class and S-Class SSD drivers to US customers.

The second-generation devices boast fast boot times and reliability that can't be matched by traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), and if you're looking to upgrade, the company is also offering both devices with Upgrade Kits. Said kits are designed to give users a omplete, easy way to upgrade an existing Hard Disk Drive (HDD) computer system to one that is SSD-based, without buying a new computer. Laptop kits include the 2.5-inch SSD drive, Acronis True Image HD imaging software for fast data transfer and backup and easy-to-follow instructions, along with a USB-to-SATA or SATA-to-SATA connector cable, power cable or power adapter. Desktop kits include the 3.5-inch SSD drive, the Acronis True Image HD imaging software power and easy-to-follow instructions, along with a SATA connector and power cable or adapter.

Subodh Kulkarni, vice president, Global Commercial Business, Imation, lobbies rather hard for your business (over other SSD vendors) in the release: "We recognize that users have many choices when it comes to SSDs. Those who demand speed and performance in a high-quality, rugged solution can trust Imation SSD drives to enable the computer to keep pace with the latest applications and enhance the user experience. However, we are also very aware that today’s users want to extend the life of their computers, both for environmental and economic reasons. A computer that uses SSD consumes less power and gives off less heat, making it more environmentally-friendly. Therefore, Imation makes it easy to retrofit a traditional HDD system with an SSD drive for a fraction of the cost, extending the life of the system, but still enabling the user to consistently get better performance from their computer."

Imation’s M-Class and S-Class SSD drives are now available in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch configurations, with capacity classes including 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. As for pricing, the M-Class starts at $189.99, while the M-Class goes for $659.99; Imation SSD Upgrade Kits including a 64GB or 128GB SSD drive are available for a starting MSRP of US $299.99 for M-Class and US $1,299.99 for S-Class.